provocative

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Some sports media types believe SI is largely a nostalgia play in a landscape where young fans go elsewhere for game highlights and turn to provocative hosts such as Pat McAfee on YouTube.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

There’s a difference between making something provocative and outright, intentional provocation.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

Heavily metaphoric and less intimately provocative than the French writer-director’s previous movies, “Alpha” is a domestic drama that may not necessarily be set at the end of the world.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

The book is by turns brilliant, provocative, digressive and dull—abounding in talent but confusingly at odds with itself.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

When I entered a civilian writing career in New York City, I collected, around Harlem, a good deal of provocative material and then proposed an article about the cult to the Reader’s Digest.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey